Community Physicians respond to Labor Council

October 24, 2011 –

Over 170 local physicians have come together to ask that a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) be performed in the evaluation of the proposed Gateway Pacific coal terminal. Recently, proponents of the coal terminal released their own statement regarding public health impacts. Their statement, authored by three leaders of local labor unions, questions some of the physicians’ conclusions.

As physicians, we are delighted that labor leaders agree that we should be discussing the public health impacts of a project that would affect communities all along the rail corridor as well as those in proximity to the proposed terminal site. While we stand by the science cited in the original Whatcom Docs position statement, we agree that many questions about the GPT proposal still need to be answered: specifically, to what degree would diesel emissions, coal dust, noise, and emergency vehicle delays be increased and how would these cumulative impacts affect the health of people? This is exactly why a Health Impact Assessment, distinct from the Environmental Impact Statement, should be performed. An HIA was conducted for the rebuilding of the 520 bridge in Seattle; health impacts of what would be the largest coal terminal in North America should receive the same level of public and scientific scrutiny.

We are a growing number of physicians who span the political spectrum and who live throughout Whatcom and Skagit counties. Our only interest in the proposed coal terminal is how it might affect the long term health of all our patients. The union leadership begins their open letter by stating, “One of the principal reasons for the existence of labor unions is to carefully study and continually protect workers from risks to their health.” We, too, uphold this principle and believe that it should also apply to our community as a whole. Therefore, we respectfully ask that the membership of labor unions join us in calling for a formal Health Impact Assessment of the proposed coal terminal at Cherry Point.

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